


trick or treat

by westofmoon



Series: in case you didn't know au [4]
Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Elorcan, F/M, Fluff, Halloween Costumes, Kids, Manorian, Trick or Treating, and their children, fluffy fluff, halloween-ish, mentions of Lysaedion, rowaelin babies, set in my icydk au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 00:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21235007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westofmoon/pseuds/westofmoon
Summary: Aelin takes her children trick-or-treating...follow up to pumpkin patch





	trick or treat

Aelin fastened Seren into her stroller, tucking the corners of the blanket around the bundled up baby, it covered up her ragdoll dress but Aelin wanted to ensure the she stayed nice and warm. Seren cooed up at her, her blue eyes bright as she gummed at her pumpkin-shaped teething toy. 

A few feet away, Aspen and Aurelia were leaping over puddles from the earlier rain shower, Fleetfoot bouncing along with them. Her children had begged to bring the dog, since Rowan had had to work like to wrap up a case and couldn’t be there with them tonight. Aelin hadn’t had the heart to deny them, she was just as sad about his absence as they were.

Feeling a light tug on her dress, Aelin glanced down at Eyas still clinging to the skirt of her costume, a patchwork ragdoll dress that matched Seren’s and Aurelia’s. Eyas was watching his brother and sister, but then he looked up at her, the green of his eyes stark amidst the black surrounding them and the white and gray paint covering his face. Her little skeleton boy. His mouth was pulled down in a slight pout, and Aelin leaned down and booped him on his little black nose with a fingertip. A toothy grin broke out across his face and a little giggle escaped past his lips.

“Are we ready?” she asked loudly, so her other two children would hear over their laughing and Fleetfoot’s yips.

The both halted, running towards her. “Yes mommy!” they chirped, bouncing to a stop next to her. Aspen was dressed nearly identical to his little brother. And Aurelia was still brandishing her little toy sword; Aelin and Rowan had had a time getting Aura to put the thing down for longer than a minute since she found it at the costume store three weeks ago, and now she was having a blast as a ragdoll warrior princess. 

Their costumes all coordinated, meant to look like characters from the kids favorite holiday movie. They had even wrangled Fleetfoot into wearing a pillowcase with holes cut in it to look like the ‘ghost dog’ from the movie, while Rowan was the skeleton man and Aelin his ragdoll love. But Rowan had had to work.

Aelin fastened Fleetfoot’s walking lead, the dog sitting next to them looking at Eyas curiously. “Do we have everything?” Aelin asked her children. “You each have your bag for your candy?”

“Yes!” the chimed again, Eyas included.

But then Aspen frowned and looked up at her, his big turquoise and gold eyes sad and imploring. “Is daddy really not coming?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Aelin crooned, running a hand through his silver curls. “Daddy really wanted to be here. Very much. But he- Fleetfoot! No! Don’t lick the face paint!” She had to grab the dog by her collar and haul her away from Eyas, who’s face she was attempting to 'clean’. After Aelin had just spent the better part of two hours struggling to paint the feisty little four year old. 

Fleetfoot looked up at her, giving her a dopey dog grin that said she was quite pleased with herself, tongue lolling out of one side of her mouth. “I know you want to help, girl,” Aelin laughed, scratching the dog behind the ears, “but it’s not bath time right now.”

It was then she noticed that Eyas, too, was looking sad again, and wondered if maybe the dog hadn’t been trying to cheer the little boy up. Aurelia appeared just as upset as her brothers. 

Aelin kneeled down before her children. She straightened Eyas’s black and white suit collar, adjusted Aura’s crown and smoothed a smudge on Aspen’s cheek. “Daddy wishes very much that he was here,” she told them. Rowan had said as much in the last text he had sent her, after she had sent him pictures of the kids in their costumes, and even a couple selfies of herself. “But he wants us to have _sooo_ much fun, and not be sad! So lets go have fun so we can tell him all about everything we did and show him all of our candy when he gets home tonight, okay?”

They answered with nods and murmured 'okay’s, each giving her a small smile. It made her heart ache, but she knew it would take more than words to cheer them up. And candy would be a good starting point.

So off they went to meet up with their trick or treat group, consisting of Lysandra and Lorcan and Dorian and their children. Like Aelin, their spouses were also stuck working tonight.

Aurelia and Aspen ran ahead, towards their cousin, Aedion and Lysandra’s little boy, who was dressed as a pirate. While Aura began playing sword fight with him, Rhiannon leaped out from behind Dorian, holding her hands up like claws as she growled, “Grrar!” Her burnt gold eyes were near glowing behind her dark gray wyvern mask. Aspen let out a squealing laugh and darted around behind Lysandra as Rhiannon began bouncing after him, still growling.

Aelin laughed softly, until Eyas let out a startled noise and ducked in between Seren’s stroller and her legs and she was forced to halt. She looked up from his panicked face to see what has scared him and nearly balked as her eyes fell on Callan and Moira’s costumes. 

Raggedy clothes, sickly colored skin, covered in dirt and fake blood. Zombies, the both of them. She was even more startled to see that Lorcan himself was dressed the same. 

“Really?” she asked him as she finally coaxed Eyas forward, the little boy peeking around the corner of the stroller in terror. Lorcan gave an unconcerned shrug, and Aelin huffed a laugh, “I have a hard time believing Elide was okay with this.”

“Elide doesn’t know what costumes we picked out, ” Lorcan said with a wicked smirk. 

Callan ran over to her, causing Eyas to run around behind her. The dark haired little boy tugged at her coat and placed his hands on either side of his mouth as if to tell her some secret and whispered loudly, “It’s a surprise for mama, Aunt Aelin.” 

“Ah,” she grinned at Callan and gave Lorcan a look that said she wished him luck when Elide found out. 

After a few minutes of wrangling the wild group of children, and letting Lys and Dorian fawn over baby Seren, they finally set out down the streets of downtown Orynth. 

Street after street, house after house. Aelin had taken a million pictures and videos to show to Rowan later, and to send to her parents. 

Being that it was Eyas’s first time trick or treating, the poor little guy had been terrified to approach any of the doors. At the first house they visited, he had barely taken three steps up the sidewalk before he stopped and watched as the others collected their candy. Despite her encouragement, he refused to budge, giving her an imploring 'do I have too?’ look, and only went forward when Aurelia had taken his hand and led him up to door to show him it was alright. 

It had been a little easier after than. He actually went to the doors, but he stayed behind his siblings and the others, and Aspen told her he wouldn’t say ‘trick or treat’. 

But her little boy, and all of her children were now smiling and giggling, their bags nearly bursting with all of the candy they had collected. And she could also tell they were very tired; little Seren had fallen asleep a while ago.

Ready to head home, they parted with the others, Lorcan and his kids tagging along since they parked in the same place. 

She loaded the children into the SUV, and as she was buckling Eyas into his booster seat he blinked his sleepy eyes at her, “Can we go see daddy?”

“Yeah, can we mommy?” 

“Can we, please?”

“_Pleeease_?”

Aelin looked at their pleading little faces, a smile pulling at her mouth.

Having overheard from where he too was buckling Moira into her own booster seat in the back of their car, Lorcan said quietly, “I was planning on taking these two down to the station to see Elide before we head home.”

Aelin turned back to her kids, still looking hopefully at her. It _would_ make her husband feel better about missing out tonight. So she agreed, and after much hushed cheering, so as not to wake their baby sister, they made their way down to the Orynth Precinct. Once there, Aelin gathering the kids and Fleetfoot and transferring the still sleeping baby back into her stroller to head inside.

When they entered, Elide was sitting at her desk, working dispatch for the evening. She glanced up from her computer at their approach and gave them a smile. But then her dark eyes shifted, and Aelin knew the exact second she spotted her own children and husband because her smile tightened. 

Just before they entered the back hallway, Aelin saw Elide give Lorcan a withering look that said she was clearly not amused by his choice of costume and that he would never be in charge of picking out costumes again. 

Laughing quietly, Aelin pushed Seren’s stroller on down the hall to Rowan’s office, her little ones staying close to her side. Eyas had his little fingers buried in Fleetfoot’s fur as he walked next to her. 

The door to Rowan’s office was open and when Aelin peeked in, she saw him sitting at his desk, head bent over as he scribbled away at some paperwork for the case he and Fenrys had been slaving over for the past two weeks. She lifted a finger to her lips, gesturing to her children to be quiet as she stepped up to the door and rapped the frame with her knuckles. 

Rowan’s silver clad head shot up in surprise, and when his green eyes landed on her, and then their children, his expression brightened, a big smile spreading across his face. “Hey.”

“Daddy! Daddy!” the little one’s chanted, running through the door and over to where he sat at the desk. 

He smiled down at them, turning his chair to face them as he leaned forward, “Why who are you?” he asked them in confusion, sharing a secret little smirk with Aelin. 

Aspen and Aurelia laughed, “It’s us daddy!” 

“_What_?” Rowan’s eyes widened in surprise. Eyas giggled as he clambered up into Rowan’s lap, trying to wrap his little arms around Rowan’s middle. “I didn’t recognize any of you! You all look so amazing! I thought three little monsters had come to get me!” He grinned and ruffled Eyas’s hair, then pulled Aura and Aspen in for a hug. “Did you have fun tonight?”

Three little heads nodded, “Yes!" 

"We missed you!” Aspen said, and then held up his candy bag as he bounced on his toes. “Look at all I got!”

“Me too!” Eyas chirped, showing his father his own bag of goodies.

“Wow! That’s so much!” Rowan exclaimed, holding out a hand. “Can I have some?” Aspen’s eyes widened and he yanked his bag away, looking outright scandalized. 

Pursing her lips, Aurelia looked through her bag and picked out a piece of licorice. “You can have this one, daddy,” she said, her nose scrunched slightly.

Fighting back a laugh, Rowan took it from her. “Thank you, love.”

Laughing, Aelin walked over to Rowan’s desk, pushing Seren’s stroller closer to the desk as Fleefoot curled up next to the door, ready for a nap. Rowan smiled up at her before looking down at the baby, reaching in to run a finger over her cheek. She was still out like a light. 

“Sleeping beauty has been out since we hit up Main,” Aelin laughed softly, planting a hand on her hip.

Rowan glanced up at her, eyes bright and crinkled at the corners. “You say that like you guys pulled off some big heist." 

"We did,” Aelin said proudly, smirking at him. “Did you see that haul? My children are talented." 

He grinned crookedly, the dimple in his left cheek appearing. "Need I remind you, Miss Ragdoll, that stealing is a crime? You could be arrested for that,” he joked.

“Then I guess it’s a very good thing that my husband is a police detective then,” she said thoughtfully, pursing her lips.

Rowan’s smile turned warm then. He lifted a hand to cup the back of her neck and pulled her down to him for a kiss. “Hello, my love,” he murmured against her lips, and her toes curled in her boots at his rumbling tone. “I’ve missed you today.” He kissed her again. 

“Miss Ragdoll has missed her Skeleton Man too,” she replied. 

“_Eeew_,” Aspen grumbled as Aurelia giggled at them, the two of them deep in the process of trading pieces of candy. 

Aelin glanced down at Eyas to find him completely conked out in Rowan’s lap, his little head lolling back. Poor thing. Rowan leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “You should get them home and put them in bed. You can tell me about everything tomorrow.”

She nodded her agreement. After rousing the sleeping boy and dog, they each gave their father another big hug and Rowan walked them over to the door. Aspen trotted on out of the office into the hall, holding onto Fleetfoot, as Aurelia held Eyas’s hand, the four year old rubbing his eyes sleepily. 

Aelin halted at the door, turning back to her husband. “Are you almost finished?”

He nodded, “Yes, as soon as I finish up this paperwork, I should be home within the hour.” He gave her a smile, leaning in closer as he added softly, “And Nehemia gave me next week off.”

“Good,” she grinned, rising up on her toes to give him another kiss. ‘Miss Ragdoll has missed her husband.” And then her voice dropped to a whisper as she added so only he could hear, “And she is really looking forward to rattling his bones tonight.” 

She pressed another quick kiss to his lips and pulled back, quirking a brow in amusement at the look on his face. And without waiting for him to respond, Aelin turned away and sauntered down the hall after their children. She could have sworn she heard him growl. 

Once she had the children loaded back in the car for the drive home and was buckling her own seatbelt, her phone _blipped_ with a new message. She glanced down at the screen. 

**Buzzard**: _I’m going to hold you to that promise, Miss Ragdoll._

Aelin couldn’t stop grinning the entire drive home.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry it's not as cute as the last one. 
> 
> and I just blatantly referenced Nightmar Before Christmas with the costumes and movie mention, lol. Aelin is Sally and Rowan was supposed to be Jack, with the kids as the "little skeleton children" referenced in the epilogue.
> 
> Also posted on tumblr, @westofmoon. I post snippets there. 
> 
> I do not consent to this work being hosted on any unofficial apps or to any other websites.


End file.
